Deviant Workplace Behavior

Introduction
The objective of this paper is to analyze when deviant behavior in the workplace becomes a liability. Studies show that this type of workplace behavior is increasing and little work is being done to quantify the economic impact in an organization (Levy & Tziner, 2009). Severe effects of deviant behavior in the workplace have economical, sociological and psychological implications (Executive Disclosure, 2006). This paper provides a general overview of deviant behavior within the workplace and how it affects employees and organizations.
What is Deviant Workplace Behavior?
Deviant workplace behaviors are generally considered those that violate the organizational standards, policies or internal rules. It is important to mention
the difference between unethical behavior and negative deviant behavior. While unethical behavior deals with breaking the rules of society, negative deviant behavior focuses on violating significant organizational norms (Appelbaum et al., 2007). Both types of behavior, however, will be examined in this paper.
Researchers have given these behaviors many different names including workplace deviance, counterproductive behavior and anti-social behavior. Behavior is deemed deviant when an organization 's customs, policies, or internal regulations are violated by an individual or a group that may jeopardize the well-being of the organization or its citizens (Appelbaum et al., 2007).
The Impacts of Deviant Workplace Behavior
When normal work behavior goes outside the norms of the organization, its consequences are far-reaching and affect all levels of the organization including its decision-making processes, productivity and financial costs. Many influences impact the ethical behavior of employees and thus impact the overall company; however, managers can take proactive steps to positively influence ethical behavior. Management greatly influences the behavior of employees. In fact, how managers define and establish the culture makes a significant impact on how lower-level employees act as well as in the way the organization as a whole acts when faced with dicey ethical issues (Ernst and Young, 2008).
Coca-Cola in India is an example of how one company is trying to proactively address ethical issues. During the recruitment and hiring process, Coca-Cola India measures each applicant’s stand on personal ethics. According to Nalin Garg, Vice President of HR, “No matter how much pressure we have on us to recruit, hiring an employee whose ethics are suspect is a no-go” (Sell 2009). The organization implemented a set of workplace ethics and protocols that are helping drive the desired corporate culture. “Every employee needs to abide by it regardless of the designation of role. It includes punctuality, keeping personal work to the minimal, controlling expenses, maintaining office decorum and contributing towards creating a positive culture that results in enhanced performance and workplace relationships” (Sell 2009). The company also works with an external agency to provide a hotline to encourage and protect whistleblowers within its organization.
What Causes Bad Behavior in the Workplace?
According to a recent phone survey of 1,305 American employees performed by Integra Realty Resources, stress leads to physical violence in one in ten work environments. And almost half of those surveyed said yelling and verbal abuse is common in their workplaces (Daw, 2001). Most interestingly, this behavior is not linked to class, job type, education, or income levels.
So what’s causing all this erratic behavior? In short, stress. American businesses have suffered tremendously in the last five years due to severe economic downturn. These changes required organizations to downsize, leaving the remaining employees with more duties than ever before. This “do more with less” culture means employees are stretched to their maximum constantly. Employees are skipping breaks and lunches in order to meet job and departmental objectives. All the studies on deviant workplace behavior conclude similarly; the higher the stress level within the work environment, the higher the likelihood employees will experience counterproductive workplace
behavior.
Warning Signs
Millions of people are affected by violence in the workplace every year. Workplace violence is tied to a broad range of behaviors falling along a spectrum that, depending their nature and/or severity, significantly affect the workplace, generate a concern for personal safety, and/or result in physical injury or even death (Cordivari, 2011). This behavior rarely forms out of the blue, yet managers feel unsure how to prevent negative outbursts.
Although every situation is different, there are some conclusive warning signs managers can look for to ensure the safety of the workplace: Excessive tardiness or absences, increased need for supervisions, lack of performance, change in work habits, inability to concentrate, signs of stress, changes in attitude, weapons fascination, drug & alcohol addiction and the inability to take responsibility for their actions.
Ultimately, it is important that managers realize there are few warning signs that their employee may be in distress and need intervention. Creating a corporate culture that encourages staff to report the unusual behavior of cohorts to upper management is imperative for mitigating violence in the workplace (Executive Disclosure, 2006).
Why is Deviant Behavior Allowed to Happen in Organizations?
According to many studies, corporate propaganda statements such as, “we value or people” or “employees are our real assets” or “we work hard to foster a spirit of teamwork” is nothing like what’s really going on within the company. Silos, politics, complacency, and finger pointing are much more common than commitment, trust, and a go-getter attitude. This results in bad behavior and sickens teamwork throughout the entire organization.
Bad behaviors result in poor decision making, which produce big problems for the organization (Time Business, 2002). Bad behavior is like a cancer in an organization which must be healed before any meaningful and lasting change can occur (Productivity Cubed, 2010). When morale is down and results are not stellar, many organizations embark on change programs; implementing change initiatives, developing new strategies, and conducting “corrective interviews”. But, after a few go-rounds employees start to suffer from what researchers call Change Fatigue. If a culture of politics, blaming, and distrust exists, no meaningful change can, or will, occur. In a sick culture people will say what they think the boss wants to hear without believing in the changes proposed. For a true change to occur people must have a different mindset.
How Can Organizations Mitigate Deviant Behavior?
Although there are many issues which cause concern for organizations, there are ways for managers to positively impact the ethical behavior of employees. As Ben Heineman, the former General Electric General Counsel stated, “Performance does not have to come at the expense of integrity. A company can meet or exceed its numbers and, at the same time, adhere to formal rules, establish global ethical standards and motivate employees throughout the company to exemplify values of honesty, candor, fairness, reliability and trustworthiness” (Sell, D. 2009).
There is a consensus among organizations that violence in the workplace is unacceptable, however most organizations operate on a reactive basis, rather than developing proactive solutions to address this issue (Chen, 2010). Experts recommend that employers implement processes which enable employees to report inappropriate workplace behavior. Managers should be trained on encouraging staff members to step-up and report threats or harassment. Organizations should consider creating workplace violence prevention programs to eradicate bullying, intimidation and violent occurrences. Ultimately, all companies- big or small – should have policies in place which address workplace violence.
Conclusion
When we consider all the research, papers and articles on the topic of deviant workplace behavior, it is unquestionable and transparent that the problem is profound, not endemic to a particular race, gender, culture, group or organization and it will always be present in our society.
The goal was to summarize some of the key deviant workplace behavior, illustrating how broad and intrinsic this subject is, there is a palette of such behaviors to be explored an analyzed. When researching this topic, the group was overwhelmed with a vast array of material, cases and theses on this subject, which indeed demonstrate the severity of the problem.
Thus, it is paramount that we as individuals and working groups, as well as organizations and society, take severe and immediate actions to continuously monitor and correct such inappropriate behaviors in the workplace, establish a pattern of integrity, self-respect and dignity that every employee and human being deserves.

References
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